Ian ‘Iggy’ O’Regan has been Mount Sion number one for the past two decades. On Sunday, the former Waterford goalkeeper will line out in his seventh county final for the
Monastery men.
“Playing for Mount Sion is everything. It's very easy to come back when you're playing for a club as prestigious as Mount Sion. With the calibre of players we have, it's very hard to walk
away from it. I believe in this team so that's what makes me come back every January or February and go through the slog again.”
Current selector Jim Greene gave Iggy his senior debut in the 2002 county final against Ballygunner. The teenager got the nod ahead of long serving shot stopper Philly
Flynn. "Unfortunately, I was warming up Philly before training. A half hour later, he was warming me up! A great friend of mine; still is. Still gives me great advice. Very strange situation. I was training hard at the time, the same with Philly. Philly drove me, I drove him. I was there to play and I'm still here!"
O’Regan can still remember the butterflies in the tummy ahead of that final. “I was just thinking about Flynner and the inside forward line they had. We were dealing with a whizz kid in Paul Flynn at the time. They’ve new fellas now and they strike the ball just as well as Flynner and the boys. That week went very slow for me I can tell you. 20 years later, I still
have the same nerves that were there back in 2002. Hopefully, it will be the same outcome as 2002!”
The 19-year-old won county and provincial honours that year. The last of his five senior medals came in 2006. After an eight year wait, Sion are back for the big show in Walsh Park. “Our aim at the start of the year was to go one better than last year. We got outdone in the semi final last year. We just regrouped and the one we thing we promised ourselves was a
minimum a semi final and the aim was the final. We're there now."
Ballygunner v Mount Sion will be George Corbett Skoda Big Match on WLR this Sunday. Coverage starts at 2.15 with Kieran O'Connor and Michael Ryan in the commentary box.
